For a safe journey:

Pack the virtues

		Notes from the  Vicar General  Msgr. Paul J. Swain

Last week I traveled by air to Boston, a trip unlike previous ones.

The flights were pleasant and uneventful, with fewer travelers and less congestion. Security was more intrusive, however, and the guards less friendly.

At the Boston airport, after setting off the alarms, I was frisked and patted down. In past days it would have been humiliating. This day it was appreciated, a reassuring sign of increased security.

Responding to safety cautions, I thought carefully about what I would take with me and where I would pack them in my baggage.

Some have called these last few weeks a wake-up call for our nation, a time to recognize that all the stuff we have, the material things, the stock portfolios, the second homes cannot bring the security we truly seek. That has always been the Christian message.

Wake-up call

Perhaps we also need a wake-up call in our spiritual lives. What would be revealed if our thoughts were frisked or our actions patted down and uncovered? As we continue our spiritual journey, what do we pack?

One matched set we need to live morally good and therefore happy lives are the cardinal virtues -- prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They can properly focus the world and guide our behavior.

Given our human frailty and the precariousness of the day, we need such guides. The Catechism reminds us that these virtues are in part acquired by our own effort.

It begins with the humility to recognize that alone we stray. The moral virtues grow through education, deliberate acts and perseverance in struggle. Divine grace purifies and elevates them. (1839)

Prudence allows us to discover what is good for us and identifies the means by which we can achieve it. It sets the framework by which we apply moral principles to specific situations.

Justice establishes our proper relationship with God and with our fellow travelers. When we give God His rightful place, naturally flowing is our response to treat one another as equals, gifted by God with life.

Justice then allows us to recognize the common good we share as God's people. It provides the insight and motivation to personally respond to in-justice, whatever its form.

Fortitude allows us to hang tough through the tribulations and temptations which come to every life, to be firm in difficulties and resolute in doing the right thing despite the pressures or passions.

Temperance allows us to live balanced lives, moderating our natural desires with the higher calling as children of God adopted through the blood of Christ.

These may seem cold in description but are reflected in self-discipline, honesty, loyalty, courage, responsibility, and compassion, virtues we respect and expect.

Examples and perseverance

Ways in which we can acquire them include reading about or observing people we admire and following their example. With disciplined practice they can become the routine way we respond to what comes our way. Through prayer and regular participation in the sacraments we can call on the Spirit to strengthen them in us.

Consider the alternative when these virtues are not part of us. Then fear, anguish, and anxiety are our traveling companions. With them, hope grounded in faith travels with us.

As you continue your journey, be sure to pack the cardinal virtues -- prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

World Mission Sunday:

Everyone can answer the call

		Propagation  of the Faith  Msgr. Delbert  Schmelzer

In faith-communities around the world, many people have very little in the way of worldly goods, but they have a passion for mission -- passion to share Christ with others -- and, like Catholics in the United States, express that love on World Mission Sunday (to be observed Oct. 21 this year).

Fr. George Stephen, pastor of the parish in Chinnalapatty, India, says that the usual Sunday collection amounts to a total of $5. Despite the poverty of the parish, however, the people celebrated World Mission Sunday last year by contributing $125 for the church's missionary work.

The parishioners brought lunch with them that day and ate together on the church grounds. "It promoted the feeling of one community and kindled the spirit of evangelization," Stephen said.

Proclaiming Christ

Pope John Paul II, in his message for World Mission Sunday this year, reminds Catholics of the world: "Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep him for themselves; they must proclaim him."

After celebrating the Great Jubilee in celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus, two-thirds of the world's people still do not know Jesus in faith. Who can invite them to Christ but those who have been blessed with the gift of faith and a passion for mission?

The invitation goes out, in person, every day. From the United States, missionaries serve in countries throughout Africa, Asia, Islands of the Pacific, and Latin America.

The United States is not alone in this endeavor. The Catholic Church in many mission countries sends out missionaries: Korean Sisters, for example, are serving in Mongolia; priests from Nigeria are at work in other countries of Africa and in parishes in the United States; and African priests and religious are serving in Asia.

Answering the call

The celebration of World Mission Sunday is a reminder that the call to mission is directed to all and that everyone can answer through prayer, personal sacrifice, and financial support.

As the Holy Father says in his catechesis for the World Mission Sunday: "Mission is an invitation to all; it is an urgent call that deserves an immediate and generous answer . . . We must set out without delay . . . At the beginning of this new century, our steps must quicken as we travel the highways of the world."

World Mission Sunday gives Catholics the opportunity to pray for the church's worldwide mission in a special way -- together, at Mass -- and to offer help from the very heart of their faith for those who hunger and thirst, even unknowingly, for the news of God's love and his gift of salvation in Christ.

Common mission

Bishop Joseph Ajomo of Lokoja, Nigeria, says that World Mission Sunday in his diocese begins with a week-long program of talks, bible study, and question-and-answer gatherings about the meaning and importance of the occasion. On World Mission Sunday itself, liturgy reflects the missionary spirit.

Bishop Joseph Das of Berhampur, India, writes that in connection with World Mission Sunday the people are told: "If our children are given mission education, it is due to the sacrifices of many abroad who contribute from their blessings." And, he adds: "Though our people are poor as a whole, wholeheartedly they contribute for Mission Sunday."

On World Mission Sunday, Oct. 21, we join the Catholics of the world at the Eucharist in celebrating our common mission vocation. We offer prayers for the church's missionary efforts throughout the developing world, and we offer our financial help to support all those who day after day bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all nations and people.

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer is director of the Propagation of the Faith for the Diocese of Madison. Contributions to the Propagation of the Faith may be made at the parish or may be sent to: P.O. Box 44983, Madison, WI 53744-4983.

Stem cell research:

Symposium offers opportunity for dialogue on ethics

		Eye on the  Capitol  John Huebscher

The activity of "stem cell research" is a new human endeavor and it raises questions that have not been faced before.

So it seemed appropriate that the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) would address the issue in a new way, using tools not previously employed. That is why, for the very first time, the WCC is co-sponsoring an academic symposium, doing so with Wisconsin's largest Catholic university, Marquette.

After more than a year of preparations, the symposium, Stem Cell Research: New Frontiers in Science and Ethics, will finally take place on Oct. 17-20. The bishops will be in attendance.

Ambitious undertaking

The symposium is an ambitious undertaking. Some of the best minds in the nation will gather to exchange their views on the ethical considerations that accompany stem cell research.

The presentations will include those with a moral/ethical emphasis and others of a more scientific flavor. The symposium will not be limited to one view or moral outlook. The presenters will represent different viewpoints, some diametrically opposed to each other.

Topics that focus on moral or ethical concerns include whether research on embryos is justified by the opportunity to save lives and the ethical implications of targeting research to "profitable" diseases, while ignoring others. Others will address the need for society to be "pragmatic" in its approach to these issues.

Still another presenter will examine the issues of "cooperation with evil" assessing whether health care facilities or patients can partake of treatments developed as a result of destroying human embryos.

Among topics of a more scientific bent will be presentations that review the capacity of adult bone marrow stem cells to differentiate into neurons, the potential for using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood in medical treatments, the capacity of stem cells to develop into brain cells, and the track record of various stem cell therapies on the treatment of amytrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as "Lou Gehrig's disease."

Valuable symposium

The symposium will prove valuable to the bishops as they articulate their teaching and leadership. This is not because there is uncertainty over the church's position on the destruction of embryos, but because that is only one of many ethical issues confronted by society as it discusses the stem cell research and the therapies that may result from it.

It is also the case that the bishops, like any other teachers, can teach more effectively if they have a better grasp of the complexities of the pertinent issues. Moreover, a person can witnesses his or her values by the character as well as the content of one's argument. Thus, the very act of engaging those who hold other viewpoints in civil respectful argument can add credibility to the Catholic viewpoint on these issues.

The upcoming symposium will itself give witness to the fact that the Catholic tradition has no fear of engaging scientists, ethicists, and others with differing views. For any persuasive argument must be informed by an accurate sense of what all parties in the debate are saying and with a firm grasp of relevant information. The symposium will provide anyone who attends with both.

John Huebscher is executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.